Founded in 1965 in Windermere, Lakeland specialises in kitchenware and household products. The company now has over 4000 products in its current range and produces 18 catalogues each year for its one million mail order customers. Lakeland also has 30 Lakeland Limited stores in the UK. The companys mission to provide quality, innovative products that improve customers lives has made it the UKs largest mail order business in its sector.

Lakeland needed an automated, scalable warehouse management solution that could handle warehouse operations for its retail and direct mail businesses on a single instance. Lakeland needed to address the following challenges:

Managers at the Kendal depot access details of new purchase orders placed by the Lakelands buyers through the interface between the companys back office system and DLx Warehouse. Once received in DLx Warehouse, RDT-directed putaway ensures fast storage of all pallets in the bulk warehouse. This warehouse supplies the companys 30 retail outlets and also holds stock for replenishing the despatch depot from where mail orders are fulfilled.

RedPrairies intelligent picking options allow Lakeland to optimise the pick process to suit the different needs of its distribution and despatch businesses. When picking for the stores (distribution), warehouse operatives enter the shops code number onto the truck-mounted RDT scanner and items required for the next shipment are automatically downloaded on to the screen. A single pick then takes place for each shop, using the most efficient route around the depot. Mail orders (despatch) are fulfilled as a batch of twelve to twenty four orders in one consolidated pick. DLx Warehouse ensures that orders are picked according to priority. Items are assembled by a team of packers and despatched for arrival with the customer within two working days after placement of the order.

Using DLx Warehouse has streamlined and reduced the cost of putaway, picking and packing for both the distribution and despatch businesses. Replenishment tasks from the bulk to the despatch warehouse are automatically generated by the system as stocks become depleted, which ensures continued stock availability for fulfilling mail orders.

Stocktaking, which used to be done manually at Lakelands warehouse, has been automated by DLx Warehouses perpetual counting capability. Inventory levels are automatically updated as items are picked. This has increased stock accuracy, which now exceeds 99.9 per cent.

Meeting seasonal demand and customer trends

DLx Warehouses ABC analysis tool calculates the speed and rotation of each SKU in the depot. ABC classes are modified dynamically so that putaway and relocation algorithms can be used to put goods in the right zones. ABC analysis ensures that fast-selling items are always stored in the most convenient part of the warehouse to enable faster picking.

Enhanced capabilities developed by RedPrairie

RedPrairies comprehensive functionality enables Lakeland to meet 95 per cent of the needs of its distribution business and 80 per cent of its mail order business requirements using the standard features of DLx Warehouse. Building a customised interface between DLx Warehouse and its automated mini load system was necessary to meet the specific needs of Lakelands business for fast order turnaround. As mail orders are entered into the system, DLx Warehouse automatically checks whether sufficient quantities of all items needed to fulfil them are available at the pick face. If more stock is needed, two cranes automatically retrieve totes of stock containing the required items from their storage location and place them at the pick face. This avoids the risk of delaying an order or sending it out incomplete. When picking is complete, the totes are automatically moved back to their original location. Additional interfaces have been created for Lakelands distribution business to ensure fast, accurate despatch of replenishment stocks to its retail outlets.

RedPrairies technical team worked with Lakelands process owners to scope, design, test and implement the integration to the crane. The modifications they developed integrate seamlessly with all standard functionality and greatly enhance the benefits of DLx Warehouse to Lakelands business.

RedPrairies technical team worked with Lakelands process owners to scope, design, test and implement the integration to the crane. All enhanced capabilities developed by RedPrairie integrate seamlessly with standard functionality and greatly enhance the benefits of DLx Warehouse to Lakelands business.

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